Students at St. Joseph Elementary School learned about drug prevention from a Warren City Police Officer last week as part of Red Ribbon Week.
Principal Dr. Howard Ferguson said the students have been wearing red ribbons in class and wore red clothes on Tuesday instead of their normal uniforms.
The ribbons were supplied by the Parent Teacher Union, Ferguson said, for each student and faculty member.
On Friday, Ferguson said students observed the end of Red Ribbon Week combined with a Halloween Celebration.
"It's special but serious," Ferguson said.
Officer Sean Strong said he has been at the department for nearly two years and has been an officer for the last 10. He works as a Drug Awareness Resistance Education instructor and was a school resource officer in Florida.
To begin, Strong had the students close their eyes and picture the cars they wanted when they were older.
"You'll want to take care of it," he said. "Your bodies are just like a car. You have to put the best fuel in."
Drugs, Strong said, hurt the motor inside of people, and cigarettes and alcohol can hurt the body.
"If you've ever been to a restaurant where people were smoking, you know it stinks," he said. "Why would you want it in your body?"
Strong admitted he's addicted to chocolate, but nicotine can make it even harder to quit using tobacco.
Cigarettes contain chemicals, Strong said, which make the brain think it needs them all of the time.
"They play tricks on you," he said.
In addition, Strong said tobacco can also cause teeth to rot and skin to wrinkle.
"When you wear that red ribbon, you make a promise not to chew tobacco or drink alcohol," he said.
While there are good drugs out there, Strong said they should only be taken from doctors or adults and not friends.
People of the same age can apply peer pressure on others to try drugs, Strong said, making it harder to say no.
"You shouldn't let anybody tell you to do something you don't want to," he said.
Even medicines which are helpful in fighting disease can be bad if taken without following their instructions, Strong said.
Cigarettes contain over 3,000 chemicals, Strong said, which go into the lungs.
"When you decide to be an athlete, it makes it difficult if you hurt your lungs, especially when you're growing up," he said.